March 2018

Amparai “Sterilizing Chemical”Canard Proved to be False Conclusively by Govt Analyst who says Particles Found in Food Were Mere Lumps of Flour. The particles that were found in food at an eatery in Ampara, which was earlier rumoured to be sterilizing chemicals, were clumps of flour, the Government Analyst reported to Police. “They were contents of carbohydrates,” Government Analyst A. Weliangage said. Police sources said according to Government Analyst the particles could be considered as a made of carbohydrate. Earlier, a person who had ‘parata’ at the said eatery had circulated the incident in social media claiming that it was a sterilizing chemical, following which several violent incidents had taken place in the area. Courtesy:Daily Mirror

Amith Weerasinghe of Mahasen Balakaya the Alleged Mastermind Behind Anti-Muslim Violence In Kandy and His Associate Sumedha Suraweera Arested in Pre-dawn Raids at Digana and Poojapitiya by the Police Terrorism Investigation Division(TID) By Rathindra Kuruwita Police said yesterday the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID) had arrested Amith Jeevan Weerasinghe, alleged to be one of the masterminds of the communal unrest in Kandy and nine others, in predawn raids in Digana and Poojapitiya. The TID also arrested Weerasinghe’s second in command Sureda Suraweera. They are accused of spreading misinformation that led to communal violence, organising violent mobs that attack persons and property and using social media to incite violence. “What you should note is that only two of them are residents of the Kandy District. All others […]

The prime suspect allegedly involved in instigating racially motivated mob violence in Digana and Teldeniya in the Kandy District was arrested yesterday (8), along with nine others, by the Terrorism Investigation Division (TID) of the Police, thus restoring normalcy in the Central Province. Police Media Spokesman Superintendent of Police Ruwan Gunasekara, calling a special media briefing, said the 10 suspects were arrested in Digana and Poojapitiya yesterday morning. The supposed leader of Mahason Balakaya, Amith Jeevan Weerasinghe, his accomplice Surendra Suraweera and eight others were arrested and charged with inciting racial violence, aiding mob violence, actively spreading hate speech in the form of leaflets and on social media and conspiring to instigate ethnic disharmony. Gunasekara said that aside from these charges the suspects will be […]

”Speaker should take measures to protect the rights of the MPs” says JO Parliamentary Group Leader MP Dinesh Gunawardena ”Government should immediately reveal the MP’s involved in the riots to Parliament. It is their responsibility” says JVP Leader ”Joint Opposition expressed its support to the government, is it correct to try to imprison MPs?” asks JO MP Bandula Gunawardana. ”Joint Opposition (JO) MP Wimal Weerawansa’s statement made in Parliament on 7 March was totally misleading” says Minister of Education Akila Viraj Kariyawasam Chief Opposition Whip and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake yesterday (8), demanded that the Government reveal in Parliament the names of the Parliamentarians who were allegedly involved in the communal riots in Kandy and Ampara. Dissanayake referring to the claim…… made by Co-Cabinet […]

Chairman of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Prof. G.L. Peiris yesterday highlighted how even a well known British newspaper and an international Non Governmental Organisation were distorting the unfortunate incidents here to suit their agendas. The text of Prof. Peiris’ statement: The London based The Guardian carried an article on its web edition last Tuesday about the incidents in Kandy where Alan Keenan of the International Crisis Group had been quoted as saying among other things that “…the previous president, the staunch Sinhala nationalist Mahinda Rajapaksa, had condoned instances of anti-Muslim violence and hate speech. The renewed violence in past months could be related to the growing strength of Rajapaksa’s opposition movement,..” Keenan had further stated that “…the inter-communal violence is a product of the search […]

Struggling to contain a spate of Buddhist-led attacks on minority muslims, Sri Lanka’s government imposed temporary blocking of social media and chat applications on March 7. This followed the reintroduction of Emergency Regulations, for the first time since 2011. The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL) has ordered all telecom operators to restrict access to Facebook, Viber and Whatsapp across the country for three days, Reuters reported. This is “to prevent the spread of communal violence”, the news agency quoted an unnamed government official as saying. Meanwhile, AFP news agency added how Internet access has been stopped entirely to the Kandy district “after discovering rioters were using online messaging services like WhatsApp to coordinate attacks on Muslim properties”. Blocking public communications networks is ill-advised at any time, and especially bad during a crisis, […]

We look at the present situation, a violent history unforgotten and what the people have to say Kandy The curfew imposed in Kandy has been temporarily lifted on Thursday following days of violence against Muslim minorities in the tourist town. About 50 people broke into Mohammad Ramzeen’s small restaurant in the town of Pilimathalawa on Wednesday night while the curfew was in effect, destroying nearly everything they found. Buddhist mobs are still sweeping through Muslim neighborhoods in Sri Lanka’s central hills, destroying stores and restaurants despite a curfew, a state of emergency and heavy deployment of security forces, residents said Thursday. “The security in town is inadequate,” Ramzeen said. “We fear for our lives.” Others in the area around Kandy, the main hill town, have described similar […]

Colombo Telegraph is in possession of video footage that show members of the Special Task Force (STF) of the Police Department or Sri Lankan Army in cahoots with those who have perpetrated violence against Muslims in Kandy district. The video clearly shows the assailant humiliating his victim, bragging about what he did, while STF/Army personnel look on and laugh. He is heard saying ‘It is because of what I did to you that you now find yourself on the streets, isn’t that so?’ The STF/Army officers present do nothing to apprehend the thug who has just confessed to his crimes in their presence. They only laugh. Watch the video below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7_Qzb_sOxU

By R. Sampanthan – R. Sampanthan I want to pose the question, Sir, as to whether we have reached a stage when people think that the law enforcement authorities can be taken for granted and that the law enforcement authorities are not a deterrent to whatever activities they are engaged in? Non-observance of the rule of law can only result in chaos in governance. I do not wish to exacerbate the situation by making any remark that may not be moderate, but I do want to pose the question as to whether such incidents happening intermittently and frequently are indicative of a purely law and order situation or is there a deeper dimension to it? To what extent is the role of the State responsible from the point […]

‘Islamophobic narratives’ inflame Sri Lanka communal tensions Violent clashes between Buddhists and Muslims have forced Sri Lanka to impose a state of emergency. Despite the move, the government appears uncertain about how to respond to the violence, says analyst Alan Keenan. The Sri Lankan government on Tuesday declared a state of emergency for 10 days to rein in the spread of communal violence after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the Indian Ocean nation’s central district of Kandy. On Wednesday, the government also shut down social messaging networks, including Facebook, to control the violence. The unrest casts a spotlight on the underlying communal tensions in the South Asian country. In a DW interview, Alan Keenan, Sri Lanka analyst at the International Crisis Group (ICG), talks about the current volatile […]

Cricket legends Sanath Jayasuriya, Mahela Jayawardena and Kumar Sangakkara today condemned the recent acts of violence reported in the country and requested the people to stay together and to stand strong at tough times. Cricket star Kumar Sangakkara in a tweet said there should be no place for racism and violence in the country. “No one in Sri Lanka can be marginalised or threatened or harmed due to their ethnicity or religion,” he tweeted. “We are one country and one people. Love, trust and acceptance should be our common mantra. No place for racism and violence. Stand together and stand strong,” he tweeted. Former star cricketer Sanath Jayasuriya requested the people to act in a wise manner and to stand together at tough times. “Disgusting […]

The government says those involved in the unrest in Digana and Teldeniya have been identified. But it is said that none of them will be charged because of there close links to a VIP of the new party and involvement of Buddhist monks. Speaking at the weekly cabinet decisions media briefing, co-cabinet media spokesperson Minister Rajitha Senaratne said those involved in the clashes belonged to a political party but refused to name the political party due to pressure from a government VIP. The Minister said of the four individuals involved in the incident in Digana, two were newly elected at the recent Local Authority Election, another was a Head of the party and a district organizer and the other was a monk involved in the […]

Buddhist mobs swept through Muslim neighbourhoods in Sri Lanka’s central hills, destroying stores and restaurants and setting homes on fire despite a curfew, a state of emergency and a heavy deployment of security forces, residents said Thursday. In the small town of Pallekele, mobs ignored the curfew that was supposed to keep them off the streets and used gasoline bombs to burn four homes, said Mohamed Nazar. An angry crowd gathered around Nazar’s house around 8 p.m. Wednesday, throwing rocks and shouting, so the family turned off the lights so no one could see inside. “Then a large flame came and the house caught fire,” Nazar said. His father hid under a sofa as the flames took hold, but Nazar grabbed him and they ran […]

…they can hate so much they’ll tear the world to pieces.” Arthur Miller (All My Sons) Even as I write these words, Kandy is burning. Muslims, their homes and their properties are being targeted in the name of Buddhism, within shouting distance of the Temple of the Tooth. If the custodians of the Tooth Relic, the chief prelates of Malwatte and Asgiriya, look out from their windows, they’d probably see the smoke from the fires, if not the fires and the fire-makers. There is no greater perversion of Buddhism than killing in the name of Buddhism. In the Buddha’s teachings there is no place for any kind of violence, no concept of holy war or just war, no room for revenge, whatever the crime. It […]

The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC) unequivocally and strongly condemns the targeted anti-Muslim violence being instigated by extremist groups in the central and eastern provinces of Sri Lanka. Over the past few weeks, Muslim homes, business and mosques have been destroyed by orchestrated mobs. “Tamil Canadians are deeply disturbed by the rise in targeted violence directed at Muslim communities in the Central and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka” said Dr. Vadivelu Santhakumar, President of the Canadian Tamil Congress. “The government of Sri Lanka must take decisive and swift action to protect Muslim communities across the entire island from extremist violence and threats to their safety, “said Danton Thurairajah, Executive Director of the Canadian Tamil Congress. “Government inaction to protect its citizen and uphold the rule of law […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Nearly a decade after the successful conclusion of the war, Sri Lanka is still struggling to achieve national reconciliation. The previous Rajapaksa administration brought the violent conflict to an end on the morning of May 19, 2009 on the banks of the Nanthikadal lagoon,o n the Vanni east front, by militarily crushing the ‘world’s most ruthless terrorist organisation’. In spite of rhetoric, the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government has pathetically failed to accomplish a genuine rapprochement. Instead, the yahapalana leadership has allowed further deterioration of the situation by deliberately suppressing a comprehensive dialogue on wartime British High Commission dispatches that surely cleared, both previous political and military leaderships, of war crimes, as alleged by a section of the international community. In addition to British dispatches, […]

President enacts state of emergency for seven days after Cabinet meeting PM condemns violence in P’ment, says clashes triggered by political ideologies, offers compensation One dead, clashes continue in Digana and outskirts with police struggling to contain violence Hartal in Kalmunai and protests in Colombo as Muslim community calls for Govt. action Ministers and MPs fly to Kandy to get first-hand account of ground situation, to visit affected areas Opposition slams Govt. for failing to stem spate of communal violence By the Daily FT News Desk President Maithripala Sirisena declared a state of emergency yesterday for the first time since 2011 as the Government struggled to rein in violence in the Kandy District, after one person was killed when violent mobs attacked homes, businesses and places of religious worship in the Muslim […]

By Shamindra Ferdinando Welcoming the establishment of the Office on Missing Persons (OMP), a civil society grouping, ‘Platform for Freedom’ which has campaigned for an internationally acceptable permanent mechanism to probe disappearances, yesterday urged the Sirisena-Wickremesinghe government to establish three remaining mechanisms in accordance with Geneva Resolution without further delay. Secretary to the Consultation Task Force on Reconciliation Mechanisms (CTF) Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu emphasized the pivotal importance of swift implementation of the Geneva pledges. Geneva sessions commenced on Feb 26 and will continue till March 26. Saravanamuttu, who is the founder Executive Director of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a member of the Foreign Policy Advisory Group and of the Board of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International and Strategic Studies said so addressing […]

The United States, Britain and Australia had issued travel advisories regarding Sri Lanka, following the violence in the Kandy District and the declaration of State of Emergency for a period of one week. The US State Department advised US citizens to monitor local media updates as further incidents could occur in the next few days. “The Sri Lankan Government declared a State of Emergency and curfews have been imposed in some regions, including Kandy Administrative District, due to communal unrest. Further incidents possible over the next few days. Monitor local media for updates,” the US State Department tweeted. The UK Foreign Office advised British citizens to exercise caution, avoid protests and rallies and comply with local security requirements. “The Sri Lankan government announced a nationwide […]